


The Ice Castle Cafe

by krazieLeylines



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M, Yuri!!! on Ice Secret Valentine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 09:20:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9880646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krazieLeylines/pseuds/krazieLeylines
Summary: This is a late Valentine's Day gift for RockinT765 for the Yuri on Ice Valentine's Day ExchangeRockinT765 wanted Yuri Plisetsky and Minami Kenjirou in a coffee shop au.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RockinT765](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RockinT765/gifts).



> Sorry this is late, but I had a bad cold! Also, I'm sorry this kind of sucks. I don't really ship these guys together, so I was unclear on what their dynamic would be like. Hopefully you like it anyway?

During the summer, Yuri would often complain to anyone who would listen that he spent more time at the Ice Caste Café than at his own home. It was all because Yuri was too young to drive, so he had to rely on his older siblings for rides into the city. Usually, that would be Mila’s job, but this year she chose to sign up for a summer camp with her friends Sara and Anya. So that left Yuri having to rely on Viktor and Georgi all the time. They didn’t mind giving him lifts, but usually only when they were planning on going out anyway.

Take today, for example. Yuri had asked Viktor to drop him off at the mall, but Viktor insisted on stopping for coffee and a bagel on the way.

“I’m assuming we can’t just go through a Dunkin Donuts drive-thru or something,” Yuri grumbled, despite how pointless it was. They both knew that Viktor wasn’t stopping at the Ice Castle Café for the coffee. No, Viktor wanted to flirt with one of the baristas again.

Viktor hummed, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel along with the upbeat song blasting on the radio that he refused to let Yuri change. “C’mon, we need to support Georgi,” Viktor argued, because Georgi just happened to work there, too. Or rather, Georgi working there was how Viktor met his coffee-selling crush in the first place. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to see his two favorite brothers in the whole wide world.”

“Please don’t insult my intelligence by pretending this is about Georgi,” Yuri said, and glanced at his phone. It was 11:47, so as long as they didn’t longer too long, Yuri would still have a decent sized day of shopping ahead of him. “Besides, we’re his only two brothers.”

“As far as we know,” Viktor corrected him.

That was technically true. None of the four of them were related, but rather adopted by who had to be the grumpiest couple in the world. Yuri supposed he should have been more bitter about it, the same way Georgi went through the whole “you’re not my real parents” phase back when _he_ was fifteen. But he had plenty of other things to be bitter about, such as the fact that Viktor and Georgi were the two most embarrassing people on the face of the planet.

A perfect example of that was how Viktor always spent five minutes fussing over his hair in the small overhead window before he’d agree to leave the car. Today was no different. As soon as the car was parked, Yuri climbed out and walked towards the Café.

The bell jingled as he shoved the heavy front door open far enough to slip inside. It was an old building, having been repurposed as many different businesses over the years. No matter the weather, Ice Castle Café was always decorated with the same winter wonderland theme. Today, Georgi was out wiping the tables as Yuri stepped in.

“Good morn-” Georgi’s creepy customer service voice faded as soon as he saw who he was talking to. “Oh, hey Yuri! Do you want the usual?”

‘The usual’ was a fifty/fifty blend of hot chocolate and decaf coffee, since Yakov and Lilia forbid all of them from drinking caffeine until he was eighteen. (Mila had recently reached that milestone, but she didn’t even _like_ coffee. It was seriously unfair.)

“Yeah, sure,” Yuri replied, walking up to the counter and flopped down on it with his elbows. The woman behind the cash register, Yuuko, startled at that and quickly hid her book.

“You didn’t see anything,” Yuuko joked when Yuri raised an eyebrow at her. Not that he blamed her; Ice Castle Café was desolate on the weekdays. She looked towards the door and furrowed her eyebrows. “Is Viktor not with you today?”

“He is. He’s just preening.”

Yuuko giggled, knowing exactly what Yuri meant. “Let me get your usual started, anyway,” she offered. She placed the extra-large cup under the hot chocolate machine, pressed the appropriate button, and then walked to the door leading to the kitchen. “Yuuri!” She called through, pushing the door open a crack, “Viktor’s coming in to see you!”

There was a muffled crash on the other side of the wall, and Yuri rolled his eyes. Not only did Viktor’s crush have to have the same name as him, he also had to be the most inelegant spaz to ever exist. 

Yuuko poured some coffee into Yuri’s cup, and then added a splash of caramel creamer before handing it over. “There you go! One Yuri Feltsman special, extra-large.”

“Yuuko’s been thinking of adding that to the menu,” Georgi said, pausing his cleaning to give Yuuko an unimpressed glower. “I told her that name is far too long, though. It needs a catchy name. Like: the fifty/fifty. Or something like that. I’m still going over a list of ideas. Besides, Yuri, you don’t want a drink named after you, do you?”

Honestly, Yuri didn’t care either way. He sipped at his drink, pretending like he was considering it seriously. When he swallowed, he merely shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

“But,” Georgi protested, “But I haven’t named anything on the menu yet!”

Yuuri rushed out from the back, furiously scrubbing his wet hands clean with a towel. He looked around and seemed especially relieved once it was clear that Viktor hadn’t come in yet. “Kenjirou!” Yuuri called out, “Is your break over yet?”

A boy Yuri hadn’t noticed earlier stood up from one of the tables in the corner. Despite being clearly Asian (as was the majority of the workers at Ice Castle Café), his hair was bright sunshine blonde, with a red streak. Yuri guessed that he dyed it. Kenjirou bounced over to the front counter, moving far too energetically for someone who worked at an unpopular café.

“Just about,” Kenjirou chirped, stopping in front of Yuuri and giving a salute. Even worse, Yuri could tell Kenjirou wasn’t even being sarcastic about it. “What can I help you with?”

“Can you finish the dishes?” Yuuri pleaded, and then squeaked as the bell jingled. “O-oh! Viktor!”

Yuri rolled his eyes and glanced back at his eldest brother. Viktor, the dweeb, had put on some shades, presumably just so he could take them off with a dramatic flourish. The effect would have been a lot more powerful if Viktor didn’t end up walking straight into a chair and falling flat on his face.

“Viktor!” Yuuri squealed, rushing to his side. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll get some ice,” Kenjirou offered, before dashing into the back room.

Yuri knelt down next to Viktor, watching silently as Georgi got Viktor sitting up, and Yuuri checked him for injuries. To everyone’s relief, other than a red splotch on his forehead, Viktor appeared to be fine.

“Are you sure you don’t have a concussion or something?” Yuuri continued to fuss, “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Three,” Viktor noted correctly, face bright pink.

Kenjirou came back with a plastic sack of ice cubes, jogging to Viktor’s side. 

“Kenjirou, what’s that?” Yuuko asked, shaking her head at him, “That’s much too large. Here. Pour some of the ice into this.” She held out a cloth, and together they fastened together a makeshift icepack. They twisted the open end closed with Yuuko’s hair tie holding it in place, and then moved it to rest against Viktor’s forehead together.

Despite looking mortified at having face-planted in front of his crush, Viktor thanked everyone for their concern. “I’m fine,” he insisted, “I feel fine.”

“Man, your hair is all messed up now,” Yuri said, just to be a jerk.

Then he looked up, and his eyes connected with Kenjirou’s. All at once, the other boy went still, an expression of surprise slowly unfurling across his face.

“Yuri!” Kenjirou blurted out, “You’re Yuri Feltsman!”

“Uh,” Yuri replied.

Kenjirou bounced to his feet, a soft blush spreading over the bridge of his nose. “We were in the same math class a couple of years ago,” Kenjirou explained, “and you’re on the ice hockey team! I’ve seen you play. You’re phenomenal!”

It wasn’t unusual for Yuri to be showered in compliments. He was the best damn player on their lousy high school team. But out of all the things he’s been called – awesome, cool, talented, great – never once has he been called _phenomenal_. It kind of made Yuri want to blush, too. Though he also felt bad at not remembering this Kenjirou kid. “Uh, thanks.”

Kenjirou apparently wasn’t finished complimenting him, though. “You’re just so fast,” he gushed, “It’s amazing! No one can ever seem to steal the puck from you. You just zoom around on the ice, like you’re the Flash, or something.”

“That’s… a superhero, right?” Yuri guessed, knowing next to nothing about that particular genre.

“Yes! He’s so fast, he can vibrate his atoms fast enough to _phase through solid walls_ ,” Kenjirou explained, despite Yuri not showing any sign of being interested, “Sometimes, when you dodge around people, you do it so quickly that it looks like you’re phasing right through them.” 

“It seems you have a fan, Yuri,” Georgi teased, elbowing Yuri hard enough in the side for him to stumble forward. The man really didn’t understand the concept of subtly.

Kenjirou looked just as embarrassed as Yuri felt. And yet, he didn’t deny it.

“I guess I am a bit of a fan,” Kenjirou admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish grin that revealed surprisingly sharp canines, “I go to the rink a lot, after school, to practice. I skate competitively, in some local tournaments. So… I can tell when someone’s really talented on the ice. When you skate, it’s… it’s as if you’re dancing. It’s phenomenal.”

And suddenly things were even more awkward. Yuri coughed purposefully, trying to break the weird atmosphere. “Thanks for the support,” Yuri replied blandly, hoping that it conveyed just how uncomfortable he felt.

“O-oh. Of course.” Kenjirou blinked, a flicker of hurt passing across his face so quickly that Yuri wasn’t sure if he had just imagined it.

Yuri pretended he couldn’t feel Viktor and Georgi’s combined glares of disappointment searing into the back of his skull. But they stayed quiet. It wasn’t as if they could lecture him about his manners; he _had_ thanked Kenjirou, even if it was in a listless tone.

The silence stretched on for a bit. Yuri decided to fill it before he got the chance to start feeling guilty for giving Kenjirou the cold shoulder.

“Hey, are you going to pay for my drink or not?” Yuri asked Viktor, waving the extra-large cup in his face. “Or did that fall further damage your already pitiful memory? You promised you’d pay if I let you drag me in for an excuse to ogle the barista you like so much.”

Good, now it was Viktor’s turn to be embarrassed. The man began to sputter nonsensical noises, as if he were malfunctioning. “I – I didn’t come here to ogle _anyone_ ,” Viktor finally managed to start speaking English again. He was red as a tomato, and Yuri felt a little sorry for him. Just a little. “U-um. I wanted to get a drink, too. A mocha latte, if you don’t mind.”

“I’ll get it!” Yuuri called out, rushing back behind the counter to fulfil the order.

Viktor’s hands actually shook as he fished out his wallet, paying Yuuko for the two drinks. Though, even flustered as he was, Viktor managed to shoot Yuri a death glare while Yuuko was counting the change. It was a look that clearly said _You are dead to me_.

Even on the ride to the mall, Viktor didn’t say a word.

\---

The next time Yuri saw Kenjirou, it was at the ice rink. He had asked Georgi for a lift there, hoping to get in some practice. It was a Sunday, so the café was closed, and the rink wasn’t going to be too crowded. Georgi dropped him off, and told him when to be ready to be picked back up.

Yuri had just finished lacing up his skates when he happened to glance up and notice the familiar neon blonde and red haired boy dash by him.

It took a moment for Yuri to remember where he had seen him— _at the Ice Castle Café, of course_ , Yuri thought, _everything in my life seems to revolve around that stupid café_. For a second, he pondered over what to do. He wanted to avoid catching Kenjirou’s attention, lest he decide to become chatty again. But there really wasn’t any way to go about that. It wasn’t as if the rink had any prime hiding spots.

At last, he accepted the inevitability of being dragged into yet another awkward conversation, and slid out onto the ice. The least he could do was try to get in as much practice as possible before he was spotted.

Yuri pushed off onto the ice. The familiar sound of blades sliding across the ice invoked a wave of nostalgia. Everything that existed outside the rink was pushed to the back of Yuri’s mind.

He started off slow, making casual loops around the perimeter of the rink. He practiced making sharp turns, paying attention to control his speed and stay balanced. Then Yuri began going through the drills their coach always put them through: performing one way circles, backward pivots, and sprints. 

Within the first half hour, Yuri became so engrossed that he completely forgot about Kenjirou’s presence. That is, until he heard a loud crash.

All the other skaters had paused to look over, and Yuri followed their collective gaze. Kenjirou was laying upside down, the bottom half of his body propped up on the rink wall. It was clear that he had collided with it somehow. A couple of concerned mothers rushed over to check him for injuries, but Kenjirou seemed to be fine.

He was laughing, at least. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” Kenjirou told the fussing women, but allowed them to help him to his feet, “That wasn’t my first wipe out.”

Then it happened again. Kenjirou and Yuri’s eyes met.

 _Fuck_ , Yuri thought. He did not want Kenjirou calling out to him now, not when everyone was still looking over at him. The thought of all that attention being directed towards him made Yuri’s stomach drop. Sure, he was used to playing games in front of large crowds, but that was different. The idea of having Kenjirou fanboy over him in front of strangers was almost too much to bear.

Despite the fact that Georgi still wasn’t going to pick Yuri up for a few hours, Yuri quickly darted off the rink, took off his skates, and made a beeline for the parking lot.

If Kenjirou called after him, Yuri wasn’t paying attention.

On his way out, Yuri noticed a poster hung up on the corkboard near the front desk. He was sure he passed by this poster before, but only now did he stop and process what it was. Because Kenjirou was on it, wearing a ridiculously flashy suit with sequins. There were some other skaters on the poster, but Kenjirou was being featured front and center.

Something about Kenjirou’s printed face made Yuri pause. It was unsettling, and Yuri hated himself for staring for so long. But then he figured it out: it was the expression Kenjirou was wearing. Something about it made Yuri’s stomach flutter uncomfortably.

Yuri tore his gaze away, shutting down his mind before he could figure out what it meant. Instead, he busied himself by texting Georgi, telling him to meet him by the library instead. The library was the closest place Yuri could think of that he could walk to. Plus it had free wifi, so Yuri could pass the time by watching youtube videos on his phone, or something.

On the walk over, Yuri debated what to tell Georgi when he inevitably asked why he had ended his practice early. An unnerving thought hit him: what if Kenjirou told Georgi what had actually happened the next time they worked together? It didn’t matter what Kenjirou thought had happened; it would be obvious to Georgi that Yuri had been trying to avoid him. And because of what? That Kenjirou was an overly enthusiastic fan, and that made Yuri uncomfortable? Georgi and Viktor would never buy that; they both had their own small fan clubs, Georgi for his theater roles in college productions, and Viktor for his internet famous song covers.

Both of them _loved_ being fawned over, and had never understood why Yuri didn’t enjoy the royal treatment the way they did. 

Yuri continued to stress over this dilemma as he lounged in the back of the library, in the only room that was completely unoccupied. That didn’t last, of course. A group of teenagers around Yuri’s age snuck in a few minutes later, but they were quiet enough as they logged onto their individual laptops, so Yuri didn’t feel the need to move. 

Then, on a whim, Yuri pulled up the google app on his phone and input Kenjirou’s name and the name of the local ice rink. There were a few articles about previous local tournaments, and Yuri found himself skimming through them one by one.

One included a video taken of various routines, and after fishing out his headphones, Yuri sat back and watched it. It didn’t show any full programs, to Yuri’s disappointment, so he moved to youtube and searched _Kenjirou Minami boogie routine_. The first few videos had nothing whatsoever to do with his search, and Yuri thought that perhaps his search had been too vague. But then he saw a thumbnail of Kenjirou, five videos down, and clicked on it without thinking.

Kenjirou was… really good. Yuri watched him skate to an upbeat swing song, looking as though he was having the time of his life. Although he flubbed a jump in the second half, it was clear that he had an amazing presence on the ice. Without realizing it, Yuri’s foot had begun tapping along with the beat of the song.

At the end, Yuri noticed the youtuber’s name was _PrinceMinami_. It seemed that Kenjirou had posted the video himself. (That, or he had a larger fanbase than Yuri expected from a local skater.)

The previous assumption proved to be true once Yuri scrolled through _PrinceMinami_ ’s other video uploads. Most of them were much shorter, focused on capturing bits and pieces from his practice. In the first one Yuri clicked on, Kenjirou was clearly holding the phone himself before handing it off to someone else to film him.

“Hey there,” Kenjirou said at the beginning of the video, his face taking up the majority of the screen, “I’ve finally got the a-okay to add a quad to my routines this year! After much practice, I have finally mastered the quad toe loop. Please enjoy!”

Before long, Yuri’s phone was buzzing with a message from Georgi: “I’m here.”

Yuri blinked, realizing he had just spent the last hour going through nearly all of Kenjirou’s youtube videos. A sour emotion twisted in his stomach at that thought. It was unlikely that Kenjirou or anyone else would ever find out, but Yuri couldn’t help but feel like a creep for unintentionally stalking Kenjirou’s youtube channel. 

Why was Yuri acting so weird about this anyway? And why did Yuri still long to watch more of Kenjirou’s videos? The questions nagged at him, until he remembered that Georgi was still waiting for him outside.

Standing up, Yuri banished the thoughts from his mind.

\---

Things stayed awkward between Yuri and Kenjirou. More than once, they’d bump into each other at the café or the rink. They’d make small talk, but every now and again Yuri would catch Kenjirou looking at him as though he was barely holding back from saying something. Whatever it was, Kenjirou always swallowed the words back, and Yuri was glad for that.

A whole week went by like that, and despite feeling compelled to, Yuri refrained from watching any more of Kenjirou’s videos.

It was completely uncalled for, then, when Yuri dreamt of Kenjirou.

Upon waking, most memories of the dream faded from Yuri’s consciousness. However, there was one part that stuck out clearly to him. He remembered being on the ice, in the middle of a hockey game, when suddenly Kenjirou was there. It was impossible not to notice him; though he was playing for the opposing team, Kenjirou was the only one not in a uniform. Instead, he was wearing the sequined red, black, and gold outfit he had worn in the poster. The tie around his neck hung loose, glittering distractingly in the light.

One particular emotion stood lingered from the dream: frustration. Yuri could remember his anger at Kenjirou continuously stealing the puck, always flashing his signature wink his way upon doing so. Yuri’s heart pounded against his rib cage, recalling Kenjirou’s cheeky expression, and the burning anger it evoked. A single thought rattled around in his brain, on an endless loop: _How dare_ anyone be that handsome.

\---

The next morning, Yuri knew what he had to do. When Viktor asked him if he needed a ride anywhere over breakfast, Yuri nodded.

“I want to go to the Ice Castle Café,” Yuri answered, and pointed the sharp side of his fork at Viktor’s face, “and no, I’m not going to tell you why I suddenly want to go someplace that I always complain about whenever you drag me there, so don’t even ask.”

Yuri had been expecting Viktor to put up a fuss anyway, but instead his eldest brother just smiled obnoxiously. “You don’t have to explain yourself, Yurochka. Georgi and I figured it out days ago. Why you’ve been acting so weird around Kenjirou… it’s because you like him, don’t you?” His expression just screamed _shit-eating grin_. “You have a crush,” he sing-songed, just to be a pain.

At first, Yuri was annoyed, but he didn’t want to give Viktor that satisfaction. “Yeah,” he finally admitted, “I do.”

“And Kenjirou likes you, too, you know,” Viktor added playfully, “He told Georgi so.”

“Yeah, I figured.” Yuri rolled his eyes. Did Viktor really think Yuri hadn’t picked up on that? It had been obvious from their first interaction. “He’s almost as obvious as the barista you are always tripping yourself over. Now I could just dance around it, like you two do, but I’m actually not a coward, unlike you.”

That wiped the smirk off Viktor’s lips. “You think that Yuuri likes me…?”

Yuri resisted throwing his cereal in Viktor’s face. “You still haven’t figured that out? Oh my god, you are the thickest moron I have the misfortune of knowing! Thank fuck _one of us_ has the balls to actually acknowledge the obvious.” He stood up, pouring out the rest of his milk and soggy cheerios into the sink. “C’mon, let’s just eat at the Café.”

\---

Yuri stormed into the café, sheer determination helping him shove down his nerves. Viktor trailed along behind him, being pulled along by force. He hadn’t gotten the opportunity to fix his hair for ten minutes like he usually did; Yuri had been too impatient.

The café was about as deserted as it generally was. Yuuri was at the register today, eyes lighting up as he saw them. Although, he was mostly looking at Viktor.

“Good morning,” Yuuri chirped, “Shall I get you two your usuals?” It was pathetic, the way he was leaning forward on his toes like an eager puppy. Yuri was sure that Yuuri would have done anything Viktor asked of him at that moment. It was utterly absurd that Viktor couldn’t see that.

“Yes,” Viktor started, but Yuri cut him off.

“I’m looking for Kenjirou,” Yuri said, glancing around the café to ensure that he wasn’t out cleaning tables or something, “Is he here today?”

“O-oh? Yeah, he’s washing dishes…” Yuuri blinked owlishly behind his spectacles.

“Okay. Well, can you fetch him for me?” Yuri prompted, when Yuuri made no sign of moving.

“Oh. Yeah, okay.” Yuuri glanced at Viktor, confused and seemingly reluctant to walk away from him for even a second. But finally he managed to pull away, and he ducked out into the back.

It took a while for anyone to reappear from the back. Yuri bit his lip, afraid that he’d lose his nerve if Kenjirou didn’t appear within the minute. He could sense that Viktor wanted to say something, and quickly elbowed the breath out of him before he could.

Viktor was still sputtering, clutching his stomach, when Yuuri reappeared.

Kenjirou trailed after Yuuri, swiping a soapy hand through his hair and completely making a mess of himself. “Sorry, I was washing the dishes,” he explained pointlessly. His eyes wouldn’t stop flickering all over Yuri’s face. He walked into the counter, and leaned over it, as if he was being pulled by an invisible force to get closer to Yuri.

Somehow, Kenjirou was even more handsome than usual, even with wet splotches on his work shirt, and bubbles in his hair.

Yuri felt his heart clench at the sight. But he refused to let himself choke. After all, he had mentally prepared for what he was going to say. “When’s your break?” Yuri asked, all his attention focused on making sure his voice didn’t shake, “I thought maybe we could eat lunch together.”

“O-oh?” Kenjirou’s eyes sparkled. It was horrendously adorable. “Uh, at twelve-thirty.”

“Then it’s a date,” Yuri said.

“A date?” Kenjirou echoed.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s kind of a crummy first date, eating here at your work.” Yuri winced, realizing that that was the truth just as he was saying it. “But maybe next time we could go someplace else to eat, and then catch a movie, or even go skating together.”

Kenjirou let out a loud breath, and for a scary moment Yuri thought Kenjirou would faint. “Next time,” he whispered.

 _Damn him for being so cute_ , Yuri thought.

“Okay,” Kenjirou said, shaking himself out of the dreamlike state he had been in, “That sounds nice.”

They both fell silent after that. It was a moment for the two of them, but outside their little bubble, Yuri was vaguely aware that they were being stared at. Without even looking, he knew Viktor and Yuuri would be gawking. Perhaps even other customers were staring at this point. The café sure had grown quiet, hadn’t it? But even being in the spotlight couldn’t shake Yuri’s happy buzz.

“Okay,” Yuri said, “I’ll see you at twelve-thirty.”


End file.
